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Wednesday, 12 June 2013

The Blob - Basics of modding heroclix - part 1

heres something a little more leftfield. not so much from the dungeon but banished into the dungeon

ok firstly I don't play this game anymore. I have hundreds if not thousands of figures I blew my money on now all sitting in a huge box up in the attic. but a few years back I put together a step by step guide on how I created a mod from scratch from a average joes point of view.

so here it goes

Hi there.
I’m a long time heroclix fan and have been into figures and games
since I was a little kid.
I would like to have a little run through of the
basics of modding.
This is something that I have wanted to do for a long time
and I hope it can be informative as well as in basic terms explain what I use to
make mods.
I do not claim to be an expert of modding or sculpting but I think
that I am not that bad at painting. I am patient enough, I think, to make at
least a worthwhile mod. I am most certainly not an expert in the English
language plus my keyboard is on its last legs! I apologize beforehand if my
grammar is not the best. That is because I am not the best at writing anything
worth publishing. I am also from the UK so any terminology that does not cross
over I am sorry for.
This also is the first mod I have made since the
Avengers set came out!
So that is my disclaimer to cover the fact this may
actually turn out to be a big pile of ####

Alas I find myself
looking to make a few after being away for a while.
So here goes.
I have
always been a fan of the X-men and especially more a fan of the bad guys from
most comic books.
Right now I am looking at making the brotherhood, to my
liking!
My first mod of choice is BLOB

I never really liked the
original sculpt. That is not how I see him. All 3 of the old dials are awful but
for today I am looking at the sculpt. I thought the old sculpt was not big
enough in height or bulk. Whenever I have seen this guy in comics he has been
about the size of 4 people, so that is what I decided I would gun for.
A huge
bulk of fat!

I used this image as my "rough" inspiration

and
hoped I could get as far close to that sort of build as possible

First I
will show you what tools I will use for a general mod.

From left to right:* 1. My trusty scalpel :(which doesn’t seem to
trust me as much! as I’ve cut my hands to ribbons making mods)I like to use
surgical scalpels ahead of normal craft knives, as they tend to be much sharper.
The blades don’t tend to last that long and go blunt pretty quickly but still,
even when blunt they are as good as most budget blades around. Replacement
blades do not cost that much. Luckily for me my old job was about to throw a box
full of blades out, which I duly re-homed.* 2.Superglue : Loctite
is the best over here that I use (in the UK) but any medium to fast bonding
superglue will do the trick. It’s all about trial and testing really until you
find the best.* 3. Hand mini drill/Pin Vice : Many people use a
Dremel. I have only ever used high powered Dremels and so I can not really
imagine using a electric powered tool on something so fiddly and dainty like a
small model, I would end up drilling right through to Australia. Therefore, I
stick with a simple hand drill. It will go through metal and plastic at the
exact speed you want it to.

* 4. Paper clips : I use
them for pinning but any fine wire will do. Florists wire I dunno, anything that
is thin and sturdy will work. I go with paper clips because I again nabbed a
load from my old job (by the way. I’m not a thief hehe)

* 5. Green
stuff/Kneadite : Purchased from games workshop. Now there are many different
types of putty to use most commonly is green stuff for general modeling and
brown stuff for more rigid and detailed parts. Now as I’ve said I’m no sculptor.
If anything I am basic at best. I do not know any techniques other than what I
have used in trials and tested myself. I hope to explain those as I go
later.

SO TO THE ACTUAL MOD

I want a big bulky BLOB
mod
what models do I use??
In truth I don’t see anything in my mod fodder
collection that would be of any massive help. So, I vie to use the parts I want
to use as a buffer to save putty in the bulking up process. Really, from my
choices the only parts which will end up being viewable are the face and the
hands.

I have decided to use CT blob and MM hulk (which happens to be one
of my fave pieces to use for mods due to its relative neutralness)

All that I am using from the Blob figure is his head and his torso

the rest
of the limbs will be from the Hulk figure.

When cutting figures
(especially older figures which use tougher plastic) I tend to heat my scalpel
slightly to allow a smoother and sweeter cut. In this case it didn’t really
matter, as I wasn’t going to be fusing parts together directly, as I wanted to
make this mod larger than the original blob figure. As mentioned, the case with
older figures they used much tougher plastic and the blob was a right pain to
cut.
(Yes, I slipped and stabbed my finger before remembering I normally heat
my blade first) So I say that so the rest of you don’t end up with fingers like
mine!
After cutting these are the parts I have decided I want to use.

(Note - the only part i have taken care in cutting is the head, cutting
it just underneath his blubber. after all parts are cut using either a fine file
or your blade just carefully trim all the edges of cut parts so that no little
fiddly parts protrude from the cuts. If you don’t do this, they will only get in
the way when you start adding the putty.)

Now we have our parts, lets
start putting him together.
Using the small hand drill I first start on the
lower leg sections. Carefully drilling a hole into the first leg. Depending on
the size of the figure and being careful not to drill a hole directly through
the leg.
In this case I’ve drilled into the lower leg about 5mm.

Getting the drilled hole central to the limb is pivotal to assembling a mod, as
it can end up looking disjointed and rather odd if a limb ends up sticking out
the wrong way.
Once the hole has been drilled, I then insert a paper clip
with some super glue on the tip.
Hold this in place until dry. Then snip the
paper clip leaving sufficient enough metal to be inserted into the next
limb.

I tend to snip the paper clip leaving as much of the straight length as
possible. (It’s better to have more in this situation than less) so I’ve put a
red mark on the image above to show where I make my cut.
Once this is done
proceed to do the same to the next leg.
Then using the same method attach
each limb together, roughly shaping the figure into the pose required.
Once
this is done I like to make a size comparison to another figure. Here I’ve used
Colossus as these two have squared up I’m sure on more than one occasion (they
must have!!)
Well, I see Blob as being slightly taller than Colossus and
much, much bulkier.

So from this comparison I am happy with the height of the figure.

If he was
too short I would pull the pins from his legs and neck on this model and make
them longer so to give more height. If he was too tall I’d just simply insert
smaller pins instead.

After a little bending and cleaning up I’m happy I
have the figure at the correct height and pose, ready to start adding putty.

(Note - in this image you will see that I have not yet trimmed bur from
the edges of the model. This is the last point in which you must clean up those
edges or they will cause problems when you start adding the putty)

PUTTY
TIME!
When using green stuff always make sure its fresh. In this case I
haven’t modded for a long while and you will find that before mixing the two
yellow and blue components together that you will most likely need to just get
rid of the section where the 2 colours join as these will harden over time and
make the mixing a royal pain in the ###.

Now, I cannot stress enough that
this is where you need to be patient in applying putty in small doses. Then
allowing it to dry before adding more.
If you try to do it all in one foul
swoop you will just find you have fingerprints all over the model. And in
general it just wont look very good.
So, the importance here is patience and
applying in small doses.

Firstly I apply putty to fill out his joints
then allow it to dry for a few hours.
I then start building up his tummy
area.
I do so first with his tummy allowing drying but not completely, then
applying the lower abdomen.
It is important to keep your fingers wet when
applying putty to prevent it from sticking to your fingers.
Once I have the
putty in place I then wet my fingers and smooth it over to give a nice smooth
texture.
Once I am happy with his gut I then add a small detail of his belly
button.
The reason I said to allow the top half of his tummy to dry a little
is because the putty has dried a little it will make it easier to shape slightly
and you wont end up stabbing him right through the gut.
I only use modeling
tools for finer details as noted. In this case I use a modeling tool to shape
out where the blobs belt will sit on that big fat gut

(Note that I haven’t actually sculpted his belt. I have merely just left
a groove in his tummy to apply the belt.)

After allowing it to dry. I
then proceed slowly bulking up his muscle structure piece by piece always
allowing it to dry before adding more.

This is down to your own judgment but remain patient and it will get there
eventually.
Each time remembering to smooth over that putty so that you cant
see any joins between the dry putty and the newly applied putty.
In this case
it was more a case of bulking him up. So in some cases I just roughly applied
the putty and only concentrated on smoothing out what would eventually be
visible.
Once I have reached the point where I’m happy with his bulk, I then
start applying small amounts of putty between the muscle structure to make it
look smooth and more presentable and then shaping slightly with a tool when the
putty is half dry.

TIP - what do you do with that putty that’s
left over each time you find you’ve mixed too much?
Well, what I do and in
this very case the Blob still needs a belt!!
I get 2 pieces of plastic with a
little grease on them. I roll out the left over putty into a very flat almost
wafer thin section (like rolling out dough to make pastry)
roll this and
flatten it between the 2 sheets of plastic. Then I allow to dry.
The grease
will stop the putty from sticking to the sheets of plastic.
Once dry, just
peel it away from the plastic and you will be left with a nice shiny strip of
putty that can be saved and used at any point for chopping up and making small
details.
In this case I needed to make enough to wrap around that fat gut, so
using a straight edge and knife I cut out a belt for Blob!
Simple and
effective.
Using fine dabs of super glue I wrap that belt around his gut and
once it is applied, use a little putty to tidy up any edges or fill in any
joints or gaps.

Now remember as this model draws closer to being
completed that if you want to add any fine details then you should allow the
putty to dry a little. On this model there are very little details and this is
why I chose it to cover this post and the only fine details are the blubber
around his face, his belt (covered above) and the seams of his suit.
Now,
before applying the seams of his suit you want to make sure your putty is half
dried. Then slowly and carefully score along the putty very gently to leave a
groove to show where his suit meets his flesh.

IF you attempt to do this
on still wet putty. all it will do is drag and make a mess of that putty you’ve
already smoothed over. So once again be patient and take your time.
Having
done this you should find yourself drawing toward the end of the model. Applying
and smoothing small amounts of putty each time until you’ve reached your desired
look.
(I apologize for the lack of detailed photos during the building up of
putty)

This is the point where I have reached my desired look!

(Note I have painted the model all green purely for presentation. As a
side note I do not consider myself a good modeler but do consider myself a
better painter. So in this case I applied enough paint to smooth over anything I
wasn’t happy with. So basically I leave myself with a big green clean slate for
the paint job!

This is the end of my little guide for now.
I hope it
has been informative and covers many simple and basic ways to make a
model
from selection to pinning to putty and a few shortcuts thrown in for
good measure
Please if there are any questions don’t
hesitate to ask and I will add to the guide in the hope this will aid anyone
looking to start making their very own mods

Also, if people have enjoyed
this. I will use the very same model to cover the basics of painting at a later
date